Pure Michigan Spent $295 Million and Even Hotels Only Got Scraps Back

Pure Michigan Spent $295 Million and Even Hotels Only Got Scraps Back [Michigan Capitol Confidential]:
"Since 2006 this state has spent $295 million on an advertising campaign called Pure Michigan that is intended to draw tourism dollars here from other states.
But a new study shows that state-funded efforts to promote tourism are mostly a blunder.
The marketing scheme is widely recognized thanks to its homey TV commercials showing picturesque Michigan locations and narrated by film and television star Tim Allen.
Michigan’s Legislature appropriated $34 million to the program for the current year, $1 million more than last year. 
Pure Michigan is managed by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, which is the state’s economic development agency.
The study’s authors, Mike LaFaive, director of fiscal policy at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, and Dr. Michael Hicks, a Ball State University professor and Mackinac Center board of scholars member, analyzed decades of tourism promotion data from almost every state to determine whether such programs have had an economic payoff.
“After analyzing 39 years’ worth of tourism promotion data from 48 states, we believe the answer is a resounding no,” the authors said.
LaFaive and Hicks conclusion is that no more taxpayer dollars should be spent on Pure Michigan..."
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